and baby makes three
by 3rdgymbros
Summary: Toph's tone is light, almost deceptively so. "Well, so, Katara says I'm kind of in labor –" ( or how ZUko almost misses the birth of his child )


**A/N:** Reviews fuel me to write more! I hope you like the latest story!

* * *

He hadn't planned on leaving for Yu Dao, not with Toph's due date so near, but his wife had all but packed his bags and sent him out of their shared chambers with a kick to the back.

"I'm not having Izumi for another month. Just go." There had been a determined twist to Toph's mouth, and she'd squared up her shoulders in preparation for a fight. "I've got the rest of these dunderheads here, and they're all determined to look after me."

"But –"

"You can't keep putting this trip off, Sparky," Toph had said, and that had been that.

Resigned now, the pressure from Toph doing him in, he'd arranged for a quick trip to Yu Dao. It would only take him two days, and he'd arrive back at the palace in time for Toph's next appointment with the family physician.

He's just settled himself comfortably on the junk – because Toph has never liked sailing, especially not on _rickety wooden boats_ – when his steward presents him with a telephone, shrilly ringing.

"Hello?"

It's Toph, her voice ragged and uneven over the phone. "Hi."

"What's wrong?" Zuko asks immediately.

"Nothing's wrong-_wrong_," Toph says slowly, but he knows her well enough to tell when she's stalling for time. "It's just – I was just wondering . . . Are you on the boat yet?"

"Yes, but we haven't left the docks . . ." His brow furrows in confusion. The sound of his wife's voice is somehow both nerve-wracking and comforting. "Toph, what's the matter?"

"Uh, well, if you wanna finish your trip, that's fine too –"

"_Toph,"_ Zuko, in his most-impressive _Fire Lord_ voice, asks, _"What's wrong?"_

"All I'm saying," Toph says, through clenched teeth and a terse exhale of air, "Is that you don't need to come back if – If –"

There's a curse from Toph then, right into his ear.

Katara pipes up from the background, her voice washing over him like a cool balm. "Toph, you should probably get Zuko to come back _right now._"

"Katara, what –" Zuko raises his voice, hoping that she'll take the phone and give him some kind of explanation.

Toph's tone is light, almost deceptively so. "Well, so, Katara says I'm kind of in labor –"

"Not _kind of_, you _are_ in labor –"

" – Oh, _yeah,_ couldn't possibly forget about that now, especially since _I'm_ the one with the baby –" Toph breaks off, sucks in a pained breath.

"_Labor?!"_ Zuko shouts, so suddenly that his steward, still hovering in the corner, jumps.

Toph snorts out a faint laugh. "Yeah. Labor. _Real _contractions, not the fake kind."

"_What?"_ Zuko fumbles for his next words. "But - But you said she wasn't due for another month!"

A grunt. "Tell - That to your daughter."

"I'm coming Toph. Just hold on."

"Calm down, Sparky, I can't exactly go – Oh fuck. _Fuck_. Here comes a –" Toph turns her face away from the phone to scream, and the raw, primal sound sends ice cold fear spearing through his heart.

Vaguely, he hears a Sokka-like shriek. "Ow, Toph! What'd you do for a living, crack walnuts or something?!"

"Sokka, could you just shut – Aahhhh."

"_Breathe,_ Toph." Even the usually chipper Aang sounds tense, and a little scared. "Uh, in, out. In, out. Inhale the –"

"AANG, JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

"I'm on my way," Zuko promises, and hanging up, turns to arrange transport back to the Fire Nation.

* * *

The first thing Zuko notices when he reaches the wing of their chambers is the distinct lack of a door to their bedroom. The wall is crumbling apart in chunks, and Zuko recognizes Toph's distinct handiwork.

The second thing he notices are the two men sitting a good way from the door – or what's left of it. There's no screaming whatsoever, which Zuko takes to be a good sign.

"Toph kicked us out," Aang says to him, by way of explanation. "She said we were terrible morale-boosters."

Sokka waves a reddened hand in his direction, clearly distressed. "_And_ she nearly broke my hand!"

"That's rough, buddy," Zuko deadpans, unsympathetic, eliciting a snort from Aang, and a glare from Sokka.

"She's waiting for you in the bedroom," Aang says, pointing in the direction of the ruined walls. "Katara's with her too!"

Katara's there, but all he can see is Toph. She looks small and thin, her belly huge and distended, against the thin cotton of her nightgown. Her chest and neck are covered in a thin sheen of sweat, the inky black strands of her hair matted against the pillow.

Katara smiles at him as he enters. "I'm gonna get more herbs. Be right back."

Quietly, she slips out of the room, leaving them alone.

"Hey," Zuko says, wiping the sweat off Toph's brow with a damp rag that smells faintly of fire lavender.

"Hi," She says, releasing a sigh. "That feels good."

He tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear; Toph leans into his touch, her eyes fluttering shut. "Sorry I'm late."

"You could have gone anyway," A hand flutters against the prominent swell of her belly. "Izumi's taking her time."

"Like her mother then," Zuko grins. Toph elbows him in the ribs, and he winces. "How are you feeling?"

"Katara forced something down my throat. It tasted like a sweaty sandal, but I don't feel anything now." There's a sharp intake of breath as another contraction rips through her; Toph fumbles for Zuko's hand and squeezes tight until the pain passes and she can draw breath back into her lungs. "Yeah, _no,_ I take that back."

"I shouldn't have left," Zuko admits softly, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"And I shouldn't have made you," Toph says on a shrug. "We'll get this couple shit right one of these days."

"Do you want anything?"

"Bubble tea. Extra sweet." There's a weary set to Toph's shoulders, in the lines etched around her mouth. Whatever medicine Katara's pumped into her seems to be making her drowsy. "But don't go away again. _Please._"

* * *

Ten hours ( and some four cups of extra sweet bubble tea later ), Katara summons him back into the bedroom, most of which appears unscathed. They might even be able to sleep there later.

"Congratulations! It's a healthy baby boy!" Katara says, and places the squirming bundle, wrapped in a white cloth, in Zuko's arms.

His son is all red legs and arms, hands splayed, dark hair and an open mouth. He cries, the strongest sound that Zuko's ever heard.

_Wait __**-**_

"_Boy?"_ Zuko asks carefully, still cuddling the bundle to his chest. The baby gazes into his face, now placidly calm; his eyes are shaped like Toph's. "What happened to Izumi?"

"Say hi to baby Iroh," Toph cackles, like it's the most hilarious thing in the world.

And knowing her, it probably is.


End file.
